cliff stalemate. he met with congressional leaders at the white house and announced there is working behind-the-scenes and a bipartisan deal then issued an ultimatum. >> the president spoke after what was viewed as a make or break meeting. saying that the hour for immediate action here is now. >> a high-stakes meeting at the white house. the president sat down with house speaker john boehner and other congressional leaders in hopes of cutting a last-minute deal. >> we have a constructive meeting today. . reid and senator mcconnell are discussing a potential agreement were making get a bipartisan bill out of the senate, into the house, at a timely fashion so we can meet the december 31 deadline. >> we will be working hard to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours. i'm optimistic. >> senate leaders are hoping to come back with a proposal as early as sunday. >> whatever become up with, it will be imperfect. some people will not like it, some will like it less but that is where we are. >> the presid